ITF

3 (i) INTRODUCTION The official Rules of Tennis requires that any ball which is used in any tournament which is played according to the Rules of Tennis, shall be named on the official list of balls which have been tested and approved as conforming to the specifications laid down in the Rules of Tennis and as issued by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The Rules of Tennis (see Rule 3 and Appendix I) provide for five types of ball – a fast-speed ball (Type 1), the standard (Type 2) ball, a slow-speed ball (Type 3) and a High Altitude ball, in addition to Stage 3, 2 and 1 balls. These are designed to have different performance characteristics derived from their dynamic and aerodynamic properties. It should be noted that the Type 3 ball is also permitted and recommended for play at high altitude on any court surface type. To help determine which ball should be used on which surface, the ITF introduced an official Court Surface Classification Scheme (CSCS) in 2000, which was superseded by the Court Pace Classification Programme (CPCP) from January 2008. As part of the assessment procedure, each surface product is awarded a Court Pace Rating, which classifies it as a slow (Category 1), medium-slow (Category 2), medium (Category 3), medium-fast (Category 4) or fast (Category 5) surface. This change follows a two- year research project by the ITF Technical Centre, which led to the development of Court Pace Rating, which provides better agreement between theoretical measurements and player perception of pace than for its predecessor (Surface Pace Rating). To enable the properties of equipment to be measured in accordance with accepted scientific standards using the SI system, all products are approved or assessed for conformity against the specifications and tolerances given or implied in the SI unit as stated in the current edition of the Rules of Tennis. Tennis ball approval and the Court Pace Classification Programme have been introduced as part of an initiative to provide further understanding and international standardisation of the equipment used in tennis. They will be of significance to players, National Associations, Referees, tournament organisers and tennis ball manufacturers worldwide. The ITF Technical Centre commenced testing for ITF Approval for the calendar year 2015 on 1 June 2014. The testing procedure for balls which are to be included on the official list of 2016 ITF Approved balls will commence on 1 June 2015. The testing of court surface products is undertaken by ITF Accredited Laboratories. ITF Court Pace Classification is valid for a period of three years – the date of expiry is listed separately for each product.

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